NVE Corp (NVEC) 2025 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon and welcome to the NVE Corporation conference call for the quarter ended December 31, 2024. I'm Dan Baker, NVE's President and CEO. I'm joined by Controller and Principal Financial Officer, Daniel Nelson.

下午好，歡迎參加 NVE Corporation 截至 2024 年 12 月 31 日的季度電話會議。我是丹貝克 (Dan Baker)，NVE 總裁兼執行長。與我一起的還有財務長兼財務長 Daniel Nelson。

This call is being webcast live via YouTube and Amazon Chime, and it's being recorded. A replay will be available through our website nve.com and our YouTube channel, youtube.com/nvecorporation. (Event Instructions) After my opening comments, Daniel Nelson will present our financial results. I'll cover R&D, sales and marketing and CapEx and we'll open the call to questions.

此通話正在透過 YouTube 和 Amazon Chime 進行網路直播並進行錄音。您可以透過我們的網站 nve.com 和 YouTube 頻道 youtube.com/nvecorporation 觀看重播。 （活動說明）在我的開場白之後，丹尼爾尼爾森將介紹我們的財務表現。我將討論研發、銷售和行銷以及資本支出，我們將開始提問。

We issued our press release with the financial results and filed our quarterly report on Form 10-Q in the past hour following the close of market. Links to the press release and 10-Q are available through the SECs website, our website and on X, formerly known as Twitter.

我們在收盤後的一小時內發布了包含財務業績的新聞稿，並以 10-Q 表格形式提交了季度報告。新聞稿和 10-Q 的連結可透過 SEC 網站、我們的網站和 X（以前稱為 Twitter）取得。

Please refer to the safe Harbor statement on your screen. Comments, we may make that relate to future plans, events, financial results or performance are forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including among others, such factors as uncertainties related to the economic environments and the industries we serve and risks and uncertainties related to future sales and revenue as well as the risk factors listed from time to time in our filings with the SEC including our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended March 31, 2024.

請參閱螢幕上的安全港聲明。我們可能發表的與未來計劃、事件、財務表現或業績相關的評論屬於前瞻性陳述，受到某些風險和不確定性的影響，其中包括與經濟環境和我們服務的行業相關的不確定性等因素。

Actual results could differ materially from the information provided and we undertake no obligation to update forward-looking statements we may make. We're pleased to report strong earnings despite continued challenges in the semiconductor industry.

實際結果可能與所提供的資訊有重大差異，我們不承擔更新我們可能做出的前瞻性陳述的義務。儘管半導體產業面臨持續的挑戰，但我們很高興地報告強勁的收益。

Daniel Nelson will cover the financials. Daniel?

丹尼爾·尼爾森將報告財務數據。丹尼爾？

Thanks Dan. Total revenue for the quarter ended December 31, 2024 decreased 25% compared to the quarter ended December 31, 2023, due to a 22% decrease in product sales and a 74% decrease in contract research and development revenue.

謝謝丹。截至2024年12月31日的季度總收入較截至2023年12月31日的季度下降25%，原因是產品銷售額下降22%，合約研發收入下降74%。

The decrease in product sales was due to continued inventory gluts particularly in the distributor channels, driven by weak chip demand and a slow recovery in industry sectors and markets we serve. The decrease in contract R&D revenue was due to the completion of certain contracts.

產品銷售下降的原因是晶片需求疲軟以及我們所服務的行業和市場復甦緩慢，導致庫存持續過剩，尤其是分銷管道。合約研發收入減少是由於部分合約完成所致。

Gross margin for the quarter was 84% compared to 80% the prior year quarter. The increase in gross margin percentage was due to a more profitable product mix and a larger portion of direct rather than distributor sales. Total expenses increased 40% for the third quarter of fiscal 2025 compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2024, due to a 61% increase in R&D and a 12% increase in SG&A.

本季毛利率為 84%，去年同期毛利率為 80%。毛利率的增加是由於利潤較高的產品組合以及直接銷售而非分銷商銷售所佔的比例更大。與 2024 財年第三季相比，2025 財年第三季的總支出增加了 40%，因為研發費用增加了 61%，SG&A 增加了 12%。

The increase in R&D was due to increased investments in new product development activities. The increase in SG&A was primarily due to increased sales and marketing activities and additional sales staff in the past quarter. Interest income for the third quarter of fiscal 2025 decreased 4%, due to a decrease in marketable securities and lower use on recently purchased marketable securities.

研發的增加是由於新產品開發活動的投資增加。SG&A 的增加主要是由於上一季銷售和行銷活動的增加以及銷售人員的增加。由於有價證券減少以及最近購買的有價證券使用量減少，2025 財年第三季的利息收入下降了 4%。

In addition to operating income, we reported other income in the third quarter of fiscal 2025 of $135,000, primarily from the reclaiming of precious metals used in our manufacturing process. Net income for the quarter decreased 27% with a decrease in revenue.

除了營業收入外，我們還報告了 2025 財年第三季的其他收入 135,000 美元，主要來自製造過程中使用的貴金屬的回收。由於收入減少，該季度淨利潤下降 27%。

It was a profitable quarter with 84% gross margin, 58% operating margin, 60% net margin and earnings of $0.63 per share. For the first nine months of fiscal 2025, total revenue decreased 18% due to a 20% decrease in product sales partially offset by a 72% increase in contract R&D. Net income for the first nine months was $11.2 million or $2.31 per diluted share. For the fiscal year-to-date, gross margin was 85%, operating margin was 63%, and net margin was 60%.

這是一個獲利的季度，毛利率為 84%，營業利潤率為 58%，淨利潤率為 60%，每股收益為 0.63 美元。2025 財年前九個月，總營收下降 18%，原因是產品銷售額下降 20%，但合約研發成長 72% 部分抵銷了這一影響。前 9 個月的淨利潤為 1,120 萬美元，即稀釋後每股收益 2.31 美元。本財年迄今，毛利率為 85%，營業利益率為 63%，淨利率為 60%。

Now, I'll turn the call back to Dan Baker to cover the business. Back to you, Dan.

現在，我將把電話轉回給丹貝克（Dan Baker），以處理此事。回到你身邊，丹。

Thanks, Daniel. I'll cover R&D, sales and marketing and CapEx. As Daniel mentioned, we've significantly increased our investment in R&D. We spent 17% of revenue in the past quarter on R&D. Additionally, we do customer sponsored R&D, which is included in the cost of sales.

謝謝，丹尼爾。我將介紹研發、銷售和行銷以及資本支出。正如丹尼爾所提到的，我們大幅增加了研發投資。上個季度我們將 17% 的營收用於研發。此外，我們也進行客戶贊助的研發，這已包含在銷售成本中。

As a result of the efforts of our R&D team, we introduced new wafer-level chip scale products in the past quarter. The new products are billed as the world's smallest devices of their type, which allows for smaller, less intrusive medical devices and more precise robotics and mechatronics. Our YouTube channel has demonstration.

經過我們研發團隊的努力，我們在上個季度推出了新的晶圓級晶片規模產品。這些新產品被稱為世界上同類設備中最小的設備，可實現更小、侵入性更小的醫療設備以及更精確的機器人和機電一體化。我們的 YouTube 頻道有示範。

A key element of our sales and marketing strategy is evaluation boards. Evaluation boards allow customers to easily visualize, create and implement great new designs with our unique products. A new evaluation platform connects to the popular Arduino line of single board computers and uses one of a dozen angle or rotation sensor breakout boards. There's more information on our website and our YouTube channel has a demonstration of the new platform.

我們銷售和行銷策略的關鍵要素是評估板。評估板使客戶能夠利用我們獨特的產品輕鬆視覺化、創建和實施出色的新設計。一個新的評估平台連接到流行的 Arduino 系列單板計算機，並使用十幾個角度或旋轉感測器分線板之一。我們的網站上有更多信息，我們的 YouTube 頻道也有新平台的演示。

Turning to CapEx. We've previously discussed plans for $4 million to $5 million in capital investments over the next two fiscal years, fiscal 2025 and 2026. We've already spent $1.16 million through three quarters of this fiscal year, fiscal 2025. We deployed one new machine in the second quarter, we're working on another new machine now, and we'll have a several million dollar machines scheduled to arrive next quarter, the June quarter.

轉向資本支出。我們先前討論了未來兩個財年（2025 財年和 2026 財年）400 萬至 500 萬美元資本投資的計畫。在本財年（2025 財年）的三個季度裡，我們已經花了 116 萬美元。我們在第二季度部署了一台新機器，現在正在開發另一台新機器，我們將有價值數百萬美元的機器計劃在下個季度（即六月季度）抵達。

In the past quarter, we reached an agreement to extend our building lease an additional 62 months through May 2031. The agreement also includes a $100,000 improvement allowance. We believe the allowance will cover our expansion. We filed the amendment to the lease agreement with the SEC. Links to the amendment are available on our website and the SEC's website.

在上個季度，我們達成協議，將建築租賃期再延長 62 個月，直至 2031 年 5 月。該協議還包括 10 萬美元的改善津貼。我們相信這筆津貼將足以支付我們的擴張費用。我們向美國證券交易委員會提交了租賃協議的修訂案。我們的網站和 SEC 網站上提供了修正案的連結。

Construction work for expansion began in November shortly after we agreed to the lease extension and was completed last week. Next up is a new electrical service and other infrastructure upgrades to support new equipment.

在我們同意延長租約後不久，擴建工程就在 11 月開始，並於上週完成。接下來是新的電力服務和其他基礎設施升級以支援新設備。

The investments in facilities and equipment will increase our capacity and capabilities including the capability to manufacture wafer-level chip scale parts such as the ones we recently introduced in high volume.

對設施和設備的投資將提高我們的產能和能力，包括製造晶圓級晶片級零件的能力，例如我們最近大批量推出的零件。

Now, we'd like to open the call for questions.

現在，我們想開始提問。

(Event Instructions)

（活動須知）

Hey, Dan, it's Jeff Bernstein.

嘿，丹，我是傑夫伯恩斯坦。

Hi, Jeff.

嗨，傑夫。

How are you? A couple of questions here. Just give us a little better feeling about what's going on in direct business. You talked about inventory liquidation continuing in distribution. What are you seeing in terms of orders fulfilled in the quarter, turns kind of business? Any other feel for how the demand is at end customers?

你好嗎？這裡有幾個問題。只是讓我們對直接業務中發生的事情有更好的了解。您談到了分銷中繼續進行的庫存清理。您認為本季完成的訂單和業務狀況如何？對於最終客戶的需求有何其他感受？

That's a good question. Jeff, our direct sales have held up relatively well, those customers tend not to buy through distribution. And as Daniel mentioned in the prepared remarks, there's a lot of inventory in the distribution channel that needs to be burned off.

這是個好問題。傑夫，我們的直銷表現相對較好，那些客戶往往不會透過分銷購買。正如丹尼爾在準備好的發言中提到的那樣，分銷渠道中有大量庫存需要消耗掉。

So those sales -- those direct sales tend to be higher margins because we don't have distributor discounts in the middle. And so that's the reason that our margins are so exceptional and our profitability metrics despite the downturn in the revenue are quite strong.

因此，這些銷售——那些直接銷售往往利潤率更高，因為我們中間沒有經銷商折扣。這就是為什麼我們的利潤率如此出色，儘管收入下滑，我們的獲利指標卻相當強勁。

Got you. Any color you can put around how bookings have been going with those direct customers or anything around your book and ship kind of business?

明白你了。您可以用任何顏色來描述直接客戶的預訂情況或您的預訂和運輸業務的任何內容嗎？

In general, the outlook has been positive. When we talk to our customers, when we talk to even talk to our distributors, they see things improving, they see industry conditions improving, it's taking longer than anyone would like. But we're very optimistic about the future and the fundamentals of our business are strong.

整體而言，前景是樂觀的。當我們與客戶交談時，甚至與經銷商交談時，他們看到事情正在改善，他們看到行業狀況正在改善，這比任何人希望的時間都要長。但我們對未來非常樂觀，我們業務的基礎也很強勁。

Got you. And so do you get the sense that consumption is actually above what you're selling into the channel now?

明白你了。那麼您是否感覺到消費實際上高於您現在在通路中銷售的數量？

Yes, almost certainly, because the distributors in the channel are trying to bleed down their inventories. So they're selling, but they're often not buying until their inventories are back to historical levels.

是的，幾乎可以肯定，因為通路中的分銷商正在努力減少庫存。因此，他們正在出售，但通常在庫存恢復到歷史水平之前不會購買。

Got you. Okay. And then just a couple questions on end markets. So both Sonova and Starkey, the big traditional hearing aid players are out with new platforms that incorporate real-time AI chips, et cetera. It seem like they probably draw a lot of power in what's a very tiny package.

明白你了。好的。然後是關於終端市場的幾個問題。因此，傳統助聽器巨頭 Sonova 和 Starkey 都推出了包含即時人工智慧晶片等的新平台。看起來它們可能在一個非常小的封裝中消耗大量的能量。

Can you just remind us the offerings that you have that go into -- potentially go into hearing aids and what your thoughts are around your TAM development there?

您能否提醒我們您所提供的產品（可能涉及助聽器）以及您對 TAM 開發的想法是什麼？

We provide sensors. So as you mentioned, Sonova, for example, has introduced a platform with artificial intelligence and the technology helps so called the so called speech and noise problem which is a significant problem for hearing aids. So it's a great development and hopefully will improve uptake of hearing aids as they can help more people.

我們提供感測器。正如您所提到的，例如，索諾瓦（Sonova）推出了一個人工智慧平台，該技術可以幫助解決所謂的語音和噪音問題，這對助聽器來說是一個重大問題。所以這是一個巨大的發展，希望能夠提高助聽器的使用率，因為它們可以幫助更多的人。

And the sensors provide inputs for artificial intelligence. Better information about the environment means better results from AI. So we're optimistic about those trends about the need for more inputs and richer data to feed these artificial intelligence and other increasingly sophisticated algorithms.

感測器為人工智慧提供輸入。更好的環境資訊意味著人工智慧能帶來更好的結果。因此，我們對需要更多輸入和更豐富數據來滿足這些人工智慧和其他日益複雜的演算法的趨勢持樂觀態度。

Okay. And then, the PUF business has been a source of volatility for you guys. I think it was stronger. Last quarter what's happening, what happened there this quarter?

好的。然後，PUF 業務一直是你們波動的根源。我認為它更強了。上個季度發生了什麼，本季發生了什麼？

So those sales as you know, can be lumpy and very quarter to quarter based on procurement schedules. But that business has been strong. It's a relatively small part of our business, but we received some orders recently, spread out through the future, but we're certainly optimistic about long term defense sales based on what we see now.

因此，如您所知，這些銷售可能會不穩定，並且根據採購計劃逐季變化。但這項業務一直很強勁。這是我們業務中相對較小的一部分，但我們最近收到了一些訂單，這些訂單分佈在未來，但根據我們現在所看到的情況，我們對長期國防銷售肯定持樂觀態度。

Got you. And just have it reported today look like all of the product areas that you might play in. We were reasonably strong. And obviously they have some exciting new products there. Any color on just the medical device business overall?

明白你了。今天就報道一下，它看起來像是您可能涉及的所有產品領域。我們相當強大。顯然他們在那裡有一些令人興奮的新產品。整個醫療器材業務有什麼顏色嗎？

As you can imagine, we also look at Abbott's reports and we communicate with them. They reported decent growth 6% overall growth in rhythm management, which is an area that we participate in that's encouraging. And they've reported that that's more than the overall growth in the cardiac rhythm management market.

正如您可以想像的那樣，我們也會查看雅培的報告並與他們溝通。他們報告稱節奏管理方面整體成長了 6%，這是我們參與的一個令人鼓舞的領域。他們報告稱，這超過了心律管理市場的整體成長。

As far as the specifics we're bound by confidentiality, but our technology enables smaller devices which is important for leadless pacemakers and other emerging technology, and we can detect extremely small magnetic fields, which is another key advantage for deeply implanted medical devices. So it's an area where we see considerable future potential.

就具體細節而言，我們受到保密性的約束，但我們的技術可以實現更小的設備，這對於無引線起搏器和其他新興技術非常重要，並且我們可以檢測極小的磁場，這是深植入醫療設備的另一個關鍵優勢。因此，我們認為這是一個未來潛力巨大的領域。

All right. Thanks very much, Dan.

好的。非常感謝，丹。

Thank you, Jeff.

謝謝你，傑夫。

Hey, Dan, this is [Pete Prevett] from Florida. I met you at the shareholders meeting. How are you?

嘿，丹，我是來自佛羅裡達州的[皮特·普雷維特]。我是在股東會上認識你的。你好嗎？

Yes, good to talk to you, Pete. We're getting, we might be warmer than you are.

是的，很高興與你交談，皮特。我們正在變得，我們可能比你更溫暖。

It's very rare, Dan, but that's probably the case. I had a couple questions. Actually, Jeff mentioned something about AI chips and I was wondering with your MTJ parts. Are they -- I know you're focused on sensors? But MTJ, does that have potential to be part of AI chips and for energy reduction, power consumption reduction?

丹，這種情況非常罕見，但情況很可能就是這樣。我有幾個問題。事實上，Jeff 提到了一些有關 AI 晶片的內容，我想知道你們的 MTJ 零件。我知道你們專注於感測器嗎？但是MTJ，這是否有潛力成為AI晶片的一部分並減少能源、功耗？

Yeah. So MTJ stands for magnetic tunnel junction and it's one of the core platform technologies that we have and it -- it's useful in a number of areas. Sensors is certainly one also useful in memory and we make memory and memory related devices for the defense business and the PUF business that Jeff alluded to in his comments is.

是的。MTJ 代表磁性隧道結，它是我們擁有的核心平台技術之一，它在許多領域都很有用。感測器當然在記憶體中也很有用，我們為國防業務和傑夫在評論中提到的 PUF 業務生產記憶體和記憶體相關設備。

So yes, they're low power which allows for ubiquitous sensing and as much as the possibilities for artificial intelligence for medical devices for hearing aids, artificial intelligence and the artificial intelligence of things is driven by data.

所以，是的，它們的功耗很低，可以實現無處不在的感測，並且可以為醫療設備、助聽器、人工智慧以及由數據驅動的人工智慧提供盡可能多的人工智慧可能性。

So the intelligence is only as good as the data that comes into it, and sensors provide that data. So while we don't directly make artificial intelligence processors, we participate in that revolution by providing the information that feeds the intelligence of the AI engines.

因此，智慧的好壞取決於輸入的數據，而感測器提供了這些數據。因此，雖然我們不直接製造人工智慧處理器，但我們透過提供為人工智慧引擎提供智慧的資訊來參與這場革命。

Great. Thank you. And then with GMR sensors, I mean your sensors are much more accurate than hall sensors, I mean, and we spoke about this at the shareholder meeting. What's the potential over time for NVE spintronic sensors to replace all sensors?

偉大的。謝謝。然後對於 GMR 感測器，我的意思是你的感測器比霍爾感測器準確得多，我的意思是，我們在股東大會上談到了這一點。隨著時間的推移，NVE 自旋電子感測器取代所有感測器的潛力有多大？

Well, we see excellent potential for GMR, which is giant magnetoresistance, which is our legacy technology, the technology that the company was really founded on. But we still sell a lot of those sensors. They're still best-in-class and Hall Effect Sensors, as you know, are semiconductor-type sensors. They are not as precise, as accurate or as power efficient as our spintronic sensors.

嗯，我們看到了 GMR 的巨大潛力，即巨磁阻，這是我們的傳統技術，也是我們公司真正建立的技術基礎。但我們仍然銷售大量此類感測器。它們仍然是同類中最好的，如您所知，霍爾效應感測器是半導體型感測器。它們不如我們的自旋電子感測器精確、準確或節能。

So we see excellent opportunities to replace those sensors in many applications. The one area that where we don't try to compete with Hall Effect Sensors is they can be very inexpensive because it's mature technology, the tooling is probably long since been written off and they can be sold pretty cheap. So our goal is not to sell cheap sensors, it's to sell the world's best sensors. So we do see ample opportunities for spintronic sensors replacing older types of sensors.

因此，我們看到了在許多應用中取代這些感測器的絕佳機會。我們不試圖與霍爾效應感測器競爭的一個領域是，它們可以非常便宜，因為它是成熟的技術，工具可能早已被註銷，並且可以相當便宜地出售。所以我們的目標不是銷售廉價的感測器，而是銷售世界上最好的感測器。因此，我們確實看到自旋電子感測器有很多機會取代舊類型的感測器。

Perfect. Thank you. And I just want to say good luck with the expansion. It sounds like you've got the new lease in place and equipment is coming in. So keep up the good work. Thanks, Dan. Appreciate it.

完美的。謝謝。我只想說祝擴展順利。聽起來您已經簽訂了新的租約並且設備即將運入。所以繼續做好工作。謝謝，丹。欣賞它。

Well, thank you. We hope, if you're here this year that we'll have some exciting things to show you.

嗯，謝謝。我們希望，如果您今年來到這裡，我們將向您展示一些令人興奮的東西。

Fantastic. Thank you.

極好的。謝謝。

(Event Instructions)

（活動須知）

Hey, Dan, it's Jeff Bernstein again. I meant to ask you about -- there was a mention of an additional expense in selling and some increased staff, I guess. Can you just give us a low down on what you're doing in terms of adding sales folks?

嘿，丹，又是傑夫伯恩斯坦。我想問你——我猜有人提到了銷售方面的額外費用和一些增加的員工。您能否向我們介紹一下您在增加銷售人員方面所做的工作？

Exactly. Yes. So I'm glad you asked, we are doing more direct sales. So more trips, more trade shows and more marketing. So that's newsletters I mentioned in the prepared remarks, we design evaluation boards and we almost have a continuous flow of evaluation boards, so that our customers can try out our products easily and prove out their designs.

確切地。是的。所以我很高興你問，我們正在做更多的直接銷售。因此，更多的旅行、更多的貿易展覽和更多的行銷。這就是我在準備好的發言中提到的時事通訊，我們設計評估板，並且我們幾乎擁有連續的評估板流程，以便我們的客戶可以輕鬆試用我們的產品並證明他們的設計。

So we feel that -- that's important for our sales. So we have staff working on that and staff working on vetting and modeling for our customer's designs, supporting our distributors and getting out and talking to our customers.

所以我們覺得這對我們的銷售很重要。因此，我們有員工負責這方面的工作，還有員工負責客戶設計的審查和建模、支援我們的經銷商並走出去與我們的客戶交談。

Looks like there are no other questions in the queue. Again, we were pleased to report strong earnings despite challenging conditions, we appreciate your attention and look forward to speaking with you again on our fiscal year-end earnings call in early May.

隊列中似乎沒有其他問題。再次，儘管情況充滿挑戰，我們仍很高興報告強勁的收益，感謝您的關注，並期待在 5 月初的財年末收益電話會議上再次與您交談。

A replay of this call will be available on the investor events page of our website nve.com and our YouTube channel, that's youtube.com/nvecorporation.

本次電話會議的重播將在我們網站 nve.com 的投資者活動頁面和我們的 YouTube 頻道（youtube.com/nvecorporation）上提供。

You may now disconnect. Thank you.

您現在可以斷開連線。謝謝。